Telling
by Gingerjohnson
Summary: After a report of incest is made by a fifteen-year-old girl, the SVU team investigates.
1. Default Chapter

Title: "Telling"

Author: Honey Johnson

Summary: After a report of incest made by a fifteen-year old girl, The SVU team investigates.

Disclaimer: The characters of SVU are not mine. Other characters are mine, but Dick Wolf's Law and Order SVU inspired them and the story.

Original Publish Date: Nov. 22 204

Complete or To Be Continued: To Be Continued.

Telling

She had entered the police station. Ashley started shaking as soon as she saw the uniforms, she turned to go but a woman stopped her, a woman who wasn't wearing a uniform."May I help you?" Olivia asked. She had a stack of reports on her desk, but on her way out to grab lunch she saw the girl. A teenager, blond curls pulled back by a white headband, a light blue jacket that seemed both too big for her and too warm for the weather.

She saw her enter, hesitate, and turn. Something in the girl's manner...she already knew the case the girl was walking away from filing belonged to SVU.Ashley was startled. The woman was staring at her intently.

"Um...I want to make a report. But can I find out what will happen before I report it?"

"What do you mean, what will happen?"

Ashley fought the urge to chew on her jacket sleeve, one of her many nervous habits. Suddenly it was hard to breathe, her chest hurt, and the floor didn't seem so level."Are you okay?" Olivia asked, and then moved with trained reflexes to keep the girl's head from hitting the floor as she passed out.

Smelling salts from the first aid kit brought Ashley sharply awake. "Do you have any medical conditions?" A policeman at her side asked her. Ashley shook her head."Have you taken any drugs?" he asked. Ashley shook her head again no. The dark-haired woman was kneeling on her other side.

"Are you police?" Ashley asked.

"Yes."

"Can I talk to you?"

Olivia knew then it would be one of those days without lunch.

Ashley shifted in her chair. She'd only wanted to talk to the woman, Detective Olivia Benson. But as soon as they entered a sparse room with a table, a window and a few chairs another plainclothes officer followed in behind them. Detective Benson introduced him as her partner, Detective Elliot Stabler.

The look of distress and sudden change in posture were not lost on Elliot. This was routine behavior, a sign he trusted for its truth but made him sad all the same. How old was this girl? He wondered. He leaned back, standing a bit removed from where they sat."Ashley, how old are you?" Olivia asked. They thought as one person sometimes, Elliot smiled to himself, swirling the old cold coffee with the bit a fresh he'd added in the Styrofoam cup. Still tasted awful no matter what. And awful was what the cases in SVU often were. But he still held on to what drove him in his work, the thought that he could make a difference and perhaps make one child's life better than it would have been.

"I'm fifteen." Ashley said. She paused. "I think this was a bad idea. I think I should go home."

"You can go if you want, but you must have had some reason for coming here." Elliot's voice was gentle but firm.

Ashley stared at her hands, clasping them on the table so the shaking wouldn't show. "It's my dad. He won't leave me alone."

"What does he do?" Olivia asked.

"Is he going to go to jail? I don't want him to go to jail. I just want him to stop."

"Stop what?" Olivia leaned forward. "Ashley, in order for him to stop it's important that you tell."

"He touches me. He..." Ashley couldn't stop the tears and was furious at herself for crying. Detective Stabler gave her a kleenex. Ashley shivered in her jacket. "He makes me sleep in his bed. At first he said it was because the loveseat wouldn't be comfortable to sleep on all night...I wanted to sleep on the floor but then he got so angry..."

"Can you tell me how old you were when this first began?" Olivia asked.

"I guess about six months ago. I just moved here, Mom wanted to move in with her boyfriend when I used to live with her on Long Island and there wasn't much space for me...Dad wanted me to live here with him and I never got to see much of him before. I thought it would be so cool to live in the city but...now I know why Marlena left."

"Who is Marlena?" Elliot asked.

"My cousin. She was living with dad but then she just moved in with her boyfriend. At least that's what dad said. But she never called or anything...she just left. I thought I'd see her, that she would come by at least, but dad says she's too busy with her new life in the city. It hurt my aunt's feelings, hurt me too. But now that I live with dad, I think I know why...This is her picture." Ashley pulled a black and white photo-booth photo of her and Marlena out of her wallet, dark-haired Marlena smiling and Ashley caught laughing-Ashley's freckles showed and she hadn't liked the picture as much before Marlena left. It was the last photo she had of her.

"How old is Marlena?" Olivia asked.

"She'll be seventeen next month."

"Did anyone in your family file a missing persons report?" Elliot asked.

"I don't think so."

"Did you ever meet Marlena's boyfriend?"

"No....are you going to tell my dad I came here? Please don't tell him, I don't want him to get mad." Ashley was suddenly very panicked.

"Ashley," Olivia spoke slowly "It's good that you came here. We can help you, protect you. But we need to ask you detailed questions. Can you tell me, did your father ever threaten you or anyone else in your family?"

Ashley stared at her hands again. "He said if I told he'd hurt me so much I'd wish I was dead. He said he'd cut my face." Ashley's hands were shaking.

"Ashley, when was the last time your father touched you?" Elliot asked.

"Last night."

"I know this is hard but can you tell us what happened?"

"I was supposed to go to school today but I just couldn't. It still hurts." Ashley covered her face in her hands and told, told them everything.

"Ashley, we are going to get you to a hospital. A doctor is going to make sure you are okay, okay? And they are going to do something called a rape kit." Olivia explained. Ashley nodded, numb.


	2. chapter 2

Title: "Telling"

Author: Honey Johnson

Email Address:

Pairing: N/A

Rating: PG-13

Summary: After a report of incest made by a fifteen-year old girl, The SVU team investigates.

Disclaimer: The characters of SVU are not mine. Other characters are mine, but Dick Wolf's Law and Order SVU inspired them and the story.

Original Publish Date: Nov. 22 204

Complete or To Be Continued: To Be Continued.

Ashley sat on the doctor's table in the emergency room, alternately rocking back and forth and kicking her feet. She was grateful Detective Benson, or Olivia as she said she could call her, was with her. Olivia had such concern in her eyes Ashley wanted to cry. It made her miss her mother, but more so, miss what her mother wasn't. Her mother, regardless of the situation, would have said words like "inconvenience" and been impatient with the hospital staff. Ashley still remembered from the time she fell and broke her arm.

Olivia wasn't like that at all. Ashley wasn't sure what the police would say when she told them. Would they say she'd brought in on herself by agreeing to live with dad? She'd agonized, stomach cramped and unable to sleep. She felt so stupid for trusting him when he'd said he'd lost his chance to be a father all these years and welcomed that she stay with him. Mom had made clear how much she wanted to move in with her boyfriend Evan, though his condo was a one-bedroom. Had she known she'd have chosen Evan's couch, at least he wasn't a creep. Her father had said not to expect much, Manhattan apartments were much smaller than what she was used to, but with her mother who was always frustrated with Ashley's presence, the offer had seemed such a relief.

Olivia was out in the hall with a phone call and Ashley hated the fear that crept up on her…Oh God, is he going to kill me? Or worse…he was always threatening to make her ugly if she told. Once he grabbed her hair and put her cheek to the stove, saying if she said a word to anyone it would be on next time. Remembering this Ashley started looking at her clothes sitting in the bags marked as evidence and debated on dressing and running. Just then Olivia walked in.

"Are you doing okay?"

Ashley nodded. She hated the gown, felt so exposed and cold. Yet Olivia made her feel calmer, safer.

"We're going to have to photograph your injuries, okay?" As Olivia spoke she assessed Ashley's bruises- both her upper arms were ringed with what looked like purple handprints. Ashley self-consciously folded her arms as if she could keep them hidden. "Did your dad leave these marks on you?"

"Yes." Ashley whispered.

"Do you have other bruises?" Olivia could tell from Ashley's hesitation that there were more. "Do you mind if I have a look?"

Ashley lifted the gown slightly revealing more fingerprint bruises on her upper thighs. There was also a long red scratch on her right leg. There were other scratches too, more healed, but still bright red lines against the pallor of Ashley's skin.

"How did you get these?" Olivia asked gently.

Ashley let out a long breath. "He cuts me sometimes. Only on the legs though. It's so…" she looked at the floor. "He doesn't want me to wear shorts or skirts. He says guys will look at me."

Olivia was angry, sudden protective anger that she channeled quickly into questions. "Can you describe the knife he used?"

"It's his pocket knife. He always has it with him…I'm so scared. He's going to really hurt me if he finds out I told."

"Ashley, he already has really hurt you. But you did the best thing you could by coming to us, okay? He's not going to be allowed to hurt you anymore."

When the photographs were taken Olivia was struck by how much Ashley reacted whenever the flash went off. She winced every time. Olivia would remember that when Munch and Fin brought in the evidence from the search of Ashley's father's apartment.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: "Telling"

Author: Honey Johnson

Pairing: N/A

Rating: PG-13

Summary: After a report of incest made by a fifteen-year old girl, The SVU team investigates.

Disclaimer: The characters of SVU are not mine. Other characters are mine, but Dick Wolf's Law and Order SVU inspired them and the story.

Complete or To Be Continued: To Be Continued.

"This is it." Fin said, double-checking the address for Walter Simmon's apartment off East 35th between Lex and Third, ground floor. Once Olivia had updated Cragen on the status of Ashley's injuries at the hospital, Casey promptly got a search warrant for Ashley's father's apartment. They were looking for anything related to Ashley's rape and abuse or the whereabouts of Marlena Jimenez.

The place was small and less than immaculate, made smaller by the presence of Elliot, Fin, Munch and two other officers. Crammed with photographic equipment, first Elliot and then Munch nearly tripped over folded tripods wobbling awkwardly in corners. Elliot looked primarily for anything related to Marlena and found a pink hairbrush full of long dark hair behind a bathroom cabinet.

"Hey look at this." Fin called Munch over to a box of photographs he'd found in the closet.

"Looks like you found the family photo album." Munch commented as they scanned the photos, several clearly of Ashley undressed, blank fear her consistent expression. There were other photos of a few other teenage girls, but the only other girl they recognized looked like Marlena, Ashley's cousin.

"There's a lot of blood in this rug." One of the officers in the search shined a light on a brown shag rug on the bedroom floor. On closer inspection tiny specks of blood were trapped in the grooves of the hardwood floor between the boards.

"Bag it." Elliot gestured to the rug.

"Perhaps Warner will be able to tell us if it was stained on one incident or multiple times." Munch said. Elliot sighed as Munch handed him a photo of a dark-haired girl bound, gagged and bleeding from cuts on her legs. "This guy's a sadist." Munch said.

"Pervert." Fin said, disgusted.

"What's this?" Elliot had pulled up a loose piece of carpeting from the closet floor. Underneath was a trapdoor that led to narrow metal stairs. The unpleasant odor of basement mold and chemicals wafted upwards as soon as the door was opened. Elliot went first, flashlight in one hand and the other ready to draw his gun. Fin and Munch followed.

"Smell that?" Fin asked.

"It's a darkroom. I hated photo-journalism." Munch confirmed by pulling a light switch, a dim red light revealing photo enlargers, bottles and trays. Strings of photographs hung across the room like clotheslines.

"Same subjects." Elliot said. His cell phone rang and it was Olivia. "You're back at the station with Ashley? OK, I'm coming back. Yeah…we need to ask her some more questions. I'll show you when I get there. No, no sign of him yet."

"If Simmons shows we'll pick him up." Fin said. Elliot nodded, taking a box of photographs with him as he climbed the narrow stairs.


	4. chapter 4

Title: "Telling"

Author: Honey Johnson

Pairing: N/A

Rating: PG-13

Summary: After a report of incest made by a fifteen-year old girl, The SVU team investigates.

Disclaimer: The characters of SVU are not mine. Other characters are mine, but Dick Wolf's Law and Order SVU inspired them and the story.

Complete or To Be Continued: To Be Continued.

"Please don't call her. Please don't call my mother." Ashley was desperate.

"We have to Ashley. It's the law." Olivia said. They were back in the sparse room; Ashley chewed her jacket sleeve and looked towards the wire-covered window. Olivia watched her. She could tell the mere mention of the word "mother" made Ashley more upset.

"Is it…?" Olivia paused. "Is there anything you need to tell me about your mother?" Ashley wouldn't look at her. "Ashley, I know all of this is really hard. But I want to make sure you are safe."

"Then don't tell my mother." Ashley said.

"Can you tell me what you are afraid of?" Olivia asked. Ashley picked at her fingernails. She felt like an animal that had escaped a trap but had had to gnaw its own leg to get free. She was an animal limping, leaving a blood trail…how could she possibly explain that her mother knowing was the blood trail that would lead her father right to her?

"If you tell her she's going to be mad at me." Ashley said finally. "I always thought she was just bad-mouthing him, you know? She's always said he likes teenage girls. Said that's why he's a photographer, always after the models, that that's why they got a divorce. She told me…" Ashley was cold yet her face felt burning hot. "Not to let him take any pictures of me. But I did. I let him. It was innocent at first…"

"Ashley, listen to me. You didn't do anything wrong." Olivia said. There was a tap on the door. It was Elliot. "Wait just a minute okay?" Olivia left for a few minutes. For Ashley it was an eternity. When they came back Olivia placed some photographs, all sealed in evidence  
marked-plastic bags, on the table.

Olivia looked at Ashley with gentle compassion. "Ashley, we searched your father's apartment and we found these photographs. Were these the ones you were talking about?"  
Olivia spoke calmly, softly. It was a moment before Ashley realized what she was looking at. Her eyes widened.

"DON'T LOOK! NO!" In a second she was on her feet, flipping the photos facedown."You searched his apartment? He's going to kill me!" She took a bag in her teeth and started to rip it up.

"Ashley, stop!" Deftly Elliot seized the photo from Ashley's grip and Olivia tried to calm her.

"I never should have come here!" Ashley was crying.

"It's okay Ashley, it's okay. You are safe here." Olivia said.

"But you looked. They're disgusting…" Ashley looked accusingly at them both, but especially Elliot.

"We know none of this is your fault. With your help we can protect you and other girls he might hurt. You aren't alone here. There are photos of other victims." Elliot said.

"So you don't think it's my fault?"

"No." Elliot said, a little louder than he meant to. "No way was it your fault." Carefully he picked up a photo of a girl with long dark hair. "Ashley, can you tell me if this is your cousin Marlena?"

"Oh…no…I had hoped…" Ashley put her hand over her mouth. "It's her. Please find her. Please…"


	5. Chapter 5

Title: "Telling"

Author: Honey Johnson

Pairing: N/A

Rating: PG-13

Summary: After a report of incest made by a fifteen-year old girl, The SVU team investigates.

Disclaimer: The characters of SVU are not mine. Other characters are mine, but Dick Wolf's Law and Order SVU inspired them and the story.

Complete or To Be Continued: To Be Continued.

At the sight of her in the photograph Ashley knew for certain what she'd only sensed, that her father had hurt Marlena too. Even so she wasn't quite prepared for the sight; her heart broke and bled all over the floor. Marlena…where are you? Are you alive? No way, Dad wouldn't- he couldn't-

"Ashley, do you think your mother knows what kind of photographs your father takes?" Elliot asked.

Ashley pressed her palms to her eyes. Suddenly there was only confusion…what have I done? Dad's going to hate me from now on. _You keep your stupid mouth shut, do you hear me?_

"Ashley?"

"I don't know. I don't know what she knows. But she's going to be mad."

Elliot looked at Olivia, who was still watching Ashley. Olivia could feel a certain fury building- the tender was starting to catch. Damn Ashley's father and to hell with her mother too.

"Let's take a break ok?" Elliot said. He could tell Ashley was not doing well. They'd asked her enough for one day.

Later, the detectives stood in Cragen's office. "I think the mother knows, Elliot."

"Liv, we can't assume that. We haven't talked to her yet."

"Come on Elliot. Warned her not to let her dad take pictures? She sent her daughter-"

Casey interrupted. "Is her mother on her way here?"

Cragen nodded. "Lives in Garden City. But this is rush hour."

"You mean rush hours." Elliot said. "It's going to be hell to pursue Ashley's statements once she goes back to Long Island."

"But you can't keep her here based on distance. Has she said her mother abused her?" Casey asked.

"No." Olivia spoke up. "But she is clearly afraid of her mother."

"Okay. I'll contact CPS and arrange for her to go to foster care for the next three days. But after that, Ashley's going right back to her mother if you don't get something more concrete." With that, Casey left and shut the door so hard the blinds shook and knocked against the glass.

"You know, I never leave her office like that." Elliot said.

"Well I can think of a few detectives who leave my office like that." Cragen said. "Look guys, we don't have time to waste. We need all the facts on the table. Olivia, what did you get on Ashley's mother?"

"Name's Elaine Elmhurst. Went back to her maiden name after the divorce. No record, but she's gotten quite a few speeding tickets."

"What about Marlena's parents, Elliot?"

"Names are Frank Jimenez and Laura Jimenez. Laura is Walt Simmons' sister. Both live in New Hyde Park, same address as Marlena's NY state ID. No rap sheet for Marlena or either of the parents. I called but there was no answer."

"Looks like you might be driving to Long Island after all." Cragen said. "I spoke to Warner, says the rape kit is positive for fluids. She also blood-typed that rug, one large stain, B blood type. That narrows down our potential victims- only 8 percent of the population has B blood type. Some of the other blood stains were other blood types, including the sheets on the bed. Warner confirmed that was Ashley's blood."

"So the rug wasn't Ashley's blood type?" Olivia asked.

"No." Cragen said. "And Warner said judging from the amount of blood, it's likely one of our victims is already dead."

"Fin and Munch still staking out Simmons' apartment?" Olivia asked.

"He has yet to show, but-" An officer knocked at the door. "Come in." Cragen said.

"Elaine Elmhurst is here."

Elliot looked at his watch, then at Cragen. "Wonder if she got anymore tickets."


	6. chapter 6

Title: "Telling"

Author: Honey Johnson

Pairing: N/A

Rating: PG-13

Summary: After a report of incest made by a fifteen-year old girl, The SVU team investigates.

Disclaimer: The characters of SVU are not mine. Other characters are mine, but Dick Wolf's Law and Order SVU inspired them and the story.

Complete or To Be Continued: To Be Continued.

"Let's go over this again. So the last time you saw Marlena Jimenez was?" Elliot regarded Elaine Elmhurst, sitting in the very spot Ashley sat earlier that day.

"Look, I'm not here to play twenty questions. I'm here to pick up my daughter." Elaine was the picture of indignation and dressed well- pearls, silk, wool. Olivia noted the family resemblance. Both had light hair but Elaine's was wavy instead of Ashley's ringlet curls. The eyes were the same color, blue-gray, but the expression in them was completely different. Ashley's were open as the ocean and Elaine's were remote as a glacier. "Where is she? Is she here or not?"

"She's here." Elliot said, turned and leaned on the table, eye to eye with Ashley's mother. "So why did you tell your daughter not to let her father take pictures of her?"

"Because she's young and impressionable. Walt photographs models. I don't want Ashley throwing away her education to try and pursue some modeling career."

"And you are familiar with Walt's photography?" Olivia asked.

"Of course. Walt's an artist. And I know you see perverts all day long so that's all you are going to see."

"Uh-huh. So is this one of Walt's artistic photos?" Olivia asked. Elaine glanced at the photo Olivia held, sealed in plastic. She quickly looked away, shutting her eyes. Olivia held a far-fetched hope Elaine could identify the girl in the photo but she could not.

"When Walt and I divorced, I found a lot of photos like that. I assumed he had affairs with many of his models…"

"Teenage girls?" Elliot asked.

"I don't know. Young. I didn't exactly ask."

"Why didn't you go to the police?" Olivia leaned forward.

"And make the divorce worse than it was?"

"So this wouldn't be a photo of Ashley you warned her not to let him take?" Olivia held up another plastic bag. "Look at it."

"I don't know why Ashley let him do that! I've taught her not to behave like that!"

"Behave like what? Did something happen before?" Olivia knew they were getting closer.

"I told her not to let him touch her!"

"Did something happen-"

"No! This is my personal life and I don't have to discuss it with you!"

"Ms. Elmhurst, if you want custody of your daughter, you better start talking about it." Elliot was angry.

"Don't you see? Ashley's doing this because she's angry about the divorce." Elaine's voice was almost pleading. Elliot looked at Olivia, wondering if she was thinking what he was thinking. They had seen denial before, but this! There were photographs for Christ sakes.

"Ashley didn't do anything, Ms. Elmhurst. She was raped." Elliot said.


	7. Chapter 7

Ashley sat alone in an office at the precinct, trying to chip what was left of the polish from her fingernails. She couldn't turn her mind off. Olivia's voice resounded in her head "A Guardian Ad Litem will be appointed for you, that's someone who will represent you in court…no, you are going to foster care, just until it can be sorted out who you will live with…no, your mother did want you but we felt it in your best interest to go to foster care…no, you can't go back to your dad's apartment…"

Her eyes burned. The police believed her. She really hadn't thought they would. She certainly hadn't thought they would take it this seriously. But if the detectives knew everything would they still feel the same way? They knew her father had cut her, forced her…

And yet there was so much left unsaid. How could she explain that because he was so horrible at times, it made the times he was nice stand out that much more? Maybe he really was a good person… she was always trying to find that magic key that would make him be nice all the time. And that was the part she felt to ashamed to tell the detectives about- that she'd given in at times because she couldn't stand her father's look of disappointment when she protested. She had felt so strange when he bought her fancy see-through nighties to sleep in; she hid them under her pillow and wore her t-shirts instead. But then he kept asking and asking, telling her she shouldn't be ashamed of her body. When he first touched her he said she mattered more than anything in the world. She felt sick and confused. He told her he needed her. He was shaking when he pulled her close- she wanted him to stop but he seemed so vulnerable, so lonely. "Your mother left me and I have no one. You are all I have…"

Ugh. She got up from the chair and vomited in the garbage bin. Or mostly in the garbage bin. Hastily she looked around for paper towels, anything- as Elliot tapped on the door. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" Ashley stammered, trying to wipe her burning face with her hands. She stared at the floor, hearing Elliot's footsteps retreat and return.

"Hey it's okay. I have kids." Elliot said, handing her napkins then a can of ginger ale. A scared look crossed Ashley's face for a brief second then passed. Elliot could read her mind. No, he thought, I would never hurt my kids. But of course she'd wonder, it's what she knows.

"You have really been brave today." Elliot said.

"But I don't feel brave. I just feel scared."

Elliot was quiet, looking into Ashley's watering eyes. He'd gone in to check on her, sensing something, he wasn't quite sure what. Maybe he had just needed to reassure himself she'd be all right. "You can get through this." He said. She reminded him of a feral cat his daughter Elizabeth had tried to tame. Timid, with that look of uncertainty…the cat had hovered on the edge of the porch as Elizabeth had coaxed it, torn between certain safety and the desire to trust.

"I feel bad." Ashley said. "I mean, are you going to arrest my dad? What if…what if he was right?"

"Right about what?" Elliot asked softly.

"He said he loved me too much. More than he was supposed to." Ashley coughed. "But that he still loved me all the same."

"Ashley, do you believe that?"

"I don't know." She paused. "No, I guess I don't."

"Those were lies Ashley. He hurt you and betrayed your trust. Remember that, okay?"

"Okay." Ashley said. She was suddenly exhausted.

"This is my card. If you think of anything else, or you need to talk, my number is on here okay?" Elliot handed her his card.

Children's Protective Services came a short time later. Watching Ashley leave in their custody, face crumpled like she would cry any minute, Elliot felt his fists clench. Right then he wanted to wring her father's neck.


	8. Chapter 8

"What's a noun that's another word for rebel that has a G and an E in it?" Munch asked Fin. They were sitting in an unmarked car outside Simmons' building.

"I can't believe you are still fixated on that crossword puzzle, John!" Fin said, exasperated. "Why are you asking when I already told you what I thought?"

"Because it doesn't fit. It has to be eight letters." Munch said.

Fin sighed, restlessly watching a well-dressed woman enter Simmons' building. Numerous tenants had entered and exited the building but they hadn't seen Simmons yet.

"Alright, where is it? Where's the paper?" Fin glanced around the car.

"It's back on my desk. And I don't want you telling me the answers, that's cheating." Munch said.

"Well my telling you any answer is cheating then!" Fin said.

"No, you are helping me guess." Munch said, maddeningly calm as ever.

About half an hour later, a man matching Simmons' description appeared, walking briskly. "That's him. Let's go!" Fin said, and both Munch and Fin moved quickly to be close to the suspect. Suddenly there was a loud popping noise and the sound of glass breaking as the glass doors of the building shattered.

"Get down!" Fin yelled, reaching uselessly to push his partner to the ground. Munch had already hit the pavement and was rolling for cover behind a parked car.

"I hate you!" There was a woman's cry of rage and more shots.

"This is Det. Munch. Shots fired. We need back-up. Repeat, need back-up and an ambulance to E. 35th and Lexington!"

Simmons was on the sidewalk, groaning. The same well-dressed woman they had seen earlier walked towards him. "Get up! I didn't hit you! I said GET UP!" Fin was on his feet and behind her but she didn't seem to notice. She stood on Simmons' hand with a spiked heel and there was a sickening cracking sound. Just then Fin reached her, grabbing the gun and pinning her arms behind her back.

Blood, bright and quick, began pooling around Simmons' body.

"Oh my God! He's bleeding! He's bleeding!" The woman began wailing as Fin cuffed her and pulled her away from Simmons. Munch grabbed a stack of baby diapers from the trunk, used for their absorbency, and began applying pressure to Simmons where he'd been hit. Despite several shots having been fired, he was lucky to have been shot only once.

Within moments sirens echoed around the tall buildings and the ambulance and back-up patrols were blocking traffic.

"I didn't mean to shoot him. I just wanted to scare him…I just wanted to scare him…" The woman repeated herself over and over, tiny drops of blood on her face and blouse. Fin looked at her driver's license.

"Elaine Elmhurst, you have the right to remain silent…"


End file.
